A M A N D A R E I D. Mathews Bowhunting Whitetails

Transcription

1 A M A N D A R E I D Mathews Bowhunting Whitetails Mathewsinc.com

2 STRIKENOW Get ready, get in and get your deer. Bow season s first days are its best days. As summer wanes, deer hunters start dreaming of archery season. We unlimber bows and back muscles, practicing our shooting for longer sessions as the days shorten. Scouting trips happen. Catalogs come out. And whitetails fill our dreams night and day. Some hunters wait for a frosty morning, colorful leaves or even the rut itself. It s easy to talk yourself out of hunting when the weather is sultry, the bugs thick and the cover jungle-like. But bow season s best days are its first ones. Hunting in warmth can be pleasant. The foliage hides you and any movements, the mosquitoes are beatable and, most importantly, the deer are patternable. After a long summer of easy living, whitetail predictability is at a high for the year. Preferred food sources are consistent and well-stocked. Deer bedding areas haven t been disturbed much. Water is a daily necessity. And the testosterone-addled unpredictability of the rut is a distant challenge. If there is a time of year when a whitetail s guard is down just a little bit, it s now. Turn to this early season bow-hunter s toolbox of strategies and techniques to arrow a whitetail while the leaves are still green. Scout Smart Traipsing around your hunting grounds looking for tracks, trails, crossings, feeding areas and bedding hideaways is guaranteed to put whitetails on alert and off their patterns. That s precisely what you don t want. Here s how to scout your ambush. Much whitetail country lends itself to long-distance work with binoculars and spotting scopes. Conduct the search from your vehicle or a secluded vantage point to minimize intrusion on the whitetails turf. This kind of scouting is easy in hill country where vistas are vast. In flat but mostly open country, you can conduct similar surveillance. Big woods require more road work to cover ground. Your goal: Identify feeding areas and confirm the entry trails and zones deer are using. Early season whitetails aren t hard to figure out. Their daily pattern is simple: finish feeding in some open area (usually a field, but often a clearcut or other opening in big woods); travel to a bedding area; get up and move within cover some time during the day; stage for the evening feeding session; exit cover before sundown to feed again; and lounge in the open area under the cover of darkness. b y t h o m a s J. c a r p e n t e r Mathewsinc.com Bowhunting Whitetails Mathews

3 S T R I K E N O W Scouting Tips 21. Pattern what the animals are doing at specific times of the day. Then, look at their feeding and bedding areas. Know their escape routes and the way the winds are blowing into those areas. - Chad Schiermeier 37. If it is legal in your state, establish a mineral lick in May (or earlier) on your hunting property and monitor it with trail cameras. This will show you the bucks that will be in your area come archery season. - Benny Collins 58. Scout where thick cover meets more open areas. It doesn t have to be a field. It can be open hardwoods. Big bucks love to travel these edges looking for does. - Lee Palmer 100. If deer are detecting the flash or noise of your scouting camera, place it about 10 feet off the ground and angle it down. You won t get as much coverage, but the camera will go undetected far more often. - Steve Bartylla 88. Scout your neighbors. In what ways do they affect the deer herd? Do they have a food source and thick cover for bedding? Are they constantly bumping deer? This can help you determine where and when to position yourself. - Dean Scott 1. I look for secluded areas a trophy buck will go to water. Often, mature bucks will hit water sources on their way to their feeding grounds. - Gregg Ritz 61. I always start scouting with the outer perimeter of the property looking for wellused trails. I also like to walk any creeks or ditches looking for good intersections. Once you find the bedding areas it is wise to avoid disturbing them. - Gene Pearcy 75. Know your food source when hunting whitetails. Find where the does are feeding and it s just a matter of time until you find your buck. - Ken Cobb 48. Many hunters utilize Google Earth. If you click on the clock icon at the top of the menu bar, a time line will appear. Drag the cursor back a few years and you ll notice a change in the image. Look for images that were taken during the fall or winter and in black and white. This will allow you to see creek bottoms and fine tune your stand location. - Jason Sebo 39. I think about my approach to a hunting area even before I think about stepping foot into the woods to choose stand sites. - Pat Reeve Somewhere in that pattern, there will be a visit to water. Depending on where you hunt and recent weather, water can be a big deal or a non-issue. In perennially wet areas (marshland or swamp regions) or when late-summer rains have been abundant, water might be an afterthought. But in dry years, as well as in the hills and on the prairies, water can be a real attractant. Prepare Secretively At some point, you re going to have to hit the ground to hang some stands or set up a ground blind. The key words here are quick and smart. Whitetails will use the same approaches to enter and exit feeding areas. But you need to set stands for morning and evening hunts. Do this a week to 10 days before UPDATE YOUR WARDROBE WITH MATHEWS APPAREL Looking for shirts, hats and other apparel to match your bow? View the complete line of Mathews apparel online at Shop- MathewsInc.Com or try it on at your local Authorized Mathews Retailer. opening day that s close enough that the deer should still be on their pattern when you hunt, but far enough that they should forget about the intrusion. Place evening stands closer to the food source, or on its edge. This is so you don t have to traipse far back into the cover when you hunt, potentially rousting bedded or staging deer. Early season whitetails will often get up and browse in cover in late afternoon, preparing for the evening feed. Consider how you will approach the stand to avoid alerting nearby deer. Hang morning stands farther back in cover. You don t want to get near the feeding area in the dark, which is certain to spook the very deer you want to hunt. Think out and plan for the backdoor approach you ll take to your morning stand. Clip and clear out a silent path so you can sneak quietly to your setup. When hanging tree stands, get in, get your work done and get out. I like to do it midday, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., which is usually a low-ebb time for warm-weather deer activity. Select spots with enough visibility to make a shot. Clear shooting lanes as needed. Consider wind direction as well, and hang alternate stands for different winds or prepare alternative spots. Gear Consideration You already own the gear you need to pursue quick-hit whitetails. But you need to solve one challenge: mosquitoes. It still gives me the heebiejeebies to think about my first early season bow hunts back in the early 1970s. Heavy, canvas, Vietnamsurplus camouflage clothes were the order of the day. Stinky bug dope was out of the question because of its intense odor. I remember lasting 15 minutes one particularly sultry evening when clouds of skeeters swarmed my face-netted head and gloved hands, peppering me good. I was close to going insane before Chuck came jogging across the hayfield, swinging his arms and yelling, I gotta get outta here! I was only too happy to join him. Fortunately, today we have better options for taking care of the mosquito problem. Mathews Bowhunting Whitetails Mathewsinc.com

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5 s t r i k e n o w ThermaCELL units ( use a small butane cartridge to emit an all-natural insect repellent Allethrin across a 15- foot by 15-foot area. Humans can t smell it, but it s hard to say if game can detect any odor. If you re positioned correctly for the wind, a ThermaCELL unit will not alert deer and it will help you stay mosquito-free, stock-still and comfortable. Traditional insect repellents have come a long way. Ultrathon is highly effective, and it comes in spray, lotion or pump dispensers. Ultrathon s key is good old DEET combined with a time-release feature that helps an application last up to 12 hours. Odor is minimized with this product, but as always, you should be using the wind to your advantage anyway. You can also wear clothing designed specifically for the purpose. Gamehide s ElimiTick line is one example. The insect repellent Permethrin is built right into each garment s fabric. The collection includes shirts, pants, jacket, hat, gloves and facemask. Ticks are targeted, as the name suggests, but all biting insects are repelled. Digital Dilemma Digital scouting cameras are great, but you still have to travel into the deers turf to place the units. Curiosity pushes us to check them more often than we should, potentially disturbing the deer even more. Then you have to go back and hang stands based on the images provided. So avoid bedding areas when hanging scouting cameras, focusing instead on potential entries and exits to feeding areas, and place and check cameras only at midday. Better yet, employ a unit that offers remote image viewing from your computer. Moultrie s Game Spy Management System ( is one such solution. Or bring a card reader such as Moultrie s Digital Picture Viewer and review images right there, make decisions and hang stands all in one trip. Tom Carpenter The clothing s insect repellency lasts through 70 washings, which is more than most hunting clothes would see in their lifetime. Timing Insights Early morning hunting offers an advantage a better opportunity Join the Fun Mathews Inc. is on facebook. Like Mathews, Inc. - Largest bow manufacturer in the world! to interact with other Mathews shooters and pros. Win products. Watch exclusive videos. Share your Mathews Moments. Ask questions. Be the first to view new product introductions. Join the worldwide phenomenon now! Tell us what you think of the Mathews Annual on Facebook. We want to know what you think of this magazine! 10 Mathews Bowhunting Whitetails Mathewsinc.com

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7 to approach your stand area unannounced, if you plan right. Approaching through a back alley is a lot more work, but don t bother hunting if you walk through the feeding area to get to your stand. Evening hunting has a challenge getting to your stand undetected when whitetails might already be staging for their afternoon feed. Your best bet is to get there early, get set quickly and get down to business. S T R I K E N O W One mistake early season hunters make is to only hunt the traditional times. The hours from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. are also prime. The day hasn t heated up yet, and whitetails will often get up for a stretch and maybe a drink. Hang a stand back in the cover near water is a great spot and wait a couple extra hours. You ll be surprised at how freely these unpressured, summer-pattern deer will move about. Quick-Hit Considerations Keep these early season techniques and tips in mind when planning and conducting your warm-weather hunt. 1. Don t go too high. Early season tree stands often need to be placed lower than you otherwise would hang them, to get below the leaf canopy for clear shots. 2. Watch the oaks. If acorns start dropping in the timber, you know where to go. Whitetails will abandon all other foods for acorns. 3. Try a decoy. Go solo the first morning and evening. But if the deer aren t quite in range or have slightly shifted their patterns, try a decoy to incite their curiosity. 4. Rattle softly. Don t simulate an allout buck fight. But a tickle of the tines might bring a bachelor group of bucks in for a look. 5. Calling works. If you re looking to secure some early season venison and a doe suits your fancy, then try a few fawn bleats to pull a curious whitetail into range. 6. Late-afternoon water. A stand near a creek crossing, spring seep or other secluded watering hole is the perfect spot for a mid-morning or late-afternoon setup on a warm day. 7. Throw in a cheesecloth bag. Plan for success: Stash a cheesecloth bag in your daypack, so you can protect your harvest s body cavity from flies for the trip to the butcher and his cooler. Tom Carpenter Conclusion Waiting for a bracing-cold, latefall morning wastes some great days. Hunting is enjoyable and productive when its warm out, the whitetails are somewhat predictable and you can beat the bugs. Bow season s opening days might be your best bet to arrow a deer whether it s a nice fat doe for the freezer or a bruiser of a buck. Get out there and make your own quick hit. Thomas J. Carpenter shoots his faithful Q2 in his home state of Minnesota, and beyond. 12 Mathews Bowhunting Whitetails Mathewsinc.com